


The Nightingale

by sleepymandrake



Series: Legends of the Nightingale [1]
Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Romance, Experimentation, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Humor, Kidnapping, Lovers to enemies to lovers, M/M, Romance, Slice of Life, no matter what it looks like, there are no OCs in this fic, trust me - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:01:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27721088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepymandrake/pseuds/sleepymandrake
Summary: "The story of the Nightingale. It doesn’t have a happy ending, and there’s no lesson to be learned from it.""I feel kind of bad for the guy, he just wanted to be free."The price of freedom can be high. Sometimes you have to be willing to give up everything in order to gain that which you once had. Izaya knows this all to well.
Relationships: Heiwajima Shizuo/Original Female Character(s), Heiwajima Shizuo/Orihara Izaya, Kishitani Shinra/Celty Sturluson, but not really - Relationship, kind of - Relationship
Series: Legends of the Nightingale [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2027639
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. Bedtime Stories

**Author's Note:**

> This entire multi-chapter story came from the intense need to have Masaomi call Izaya 'mom' in a fic...then this happened.

“Will you tell me a bedtime story?”

“A bedtime story? Kid, you’re sixteen years old, there’s no way you’re getting some story.” Shizuo looked up from where he was laid out on his and his wife’s futon. From beside him, he heard a slight scoff, then Ichi was sitting up to look over at her adopted child.

“Would you truly like a story Masaomi? I’m not the best at telling them, but I won’t deny you one.” She brushed her black hair out of her face to grin over at Shizuo, then held out an inviting hand, “Come on and sit with us, I’ll tell you a story.”  
The blonde boy laughed and ran forward to jump in between the two of them, causing Shizuo to quickly have to move or get kneed in the stomach. Ichi looked to him, giggling quietly, and wrapping an arm around her son. “What story should I even tell? Hm, Shizu-dear, what do you think?”

“Who cares? Tell him about the Nightingale, or some other fairy tale. He’s too old for this shit anyway.” Shizuo groaned and turned over to bury his face in his pillow. Masaomi let out a whine and nudged his back, “Oh come on! It’s not like I ever got bedtime stories with my old parents, I want to hear one! Mom, what’s the Nightingale?”  
“You’ve never heard of the Nightingale? Well, I don’t know about that one, it’s not the nicest of tales. How about I tell you the story behind Berserkers? Or I can explain the job of a Dullahan, since you’ve met Celty?” Ichi had settled back against the wall as she spoke, and had fluffed up a pillow for Masaomi as well. Masaomi frowned to himself, and instead of settling where she’d made a spot, crawled under the covers and sprawled out on his stomach to look up at her.  
“Yeah but I already know about those things. I want to hear about something new, I can handle a not so nice story, please!”  
Ichi seemed apprehensive but shrugged and sighed deeply to begin her story.  
“Very well. The story of the Nightingale. It doesn’t have a happy ending, and there’s no lesson to be learned from it. But if it’s that one you want. It started long ago, when Emperors still ruled Japan. There was a greedy Emperor who once promised a great reward to the person who could find him the most beautiful singer in the land. Now there just so happened to be a young man who had an incredible magic that lived in this Emperor’s kingdom. His voice held amazing power, and it didn’t hurt to mention the young man could sing.” Ichi stopped a moment, looking down to see Masaomi staring up at her in intrigue.  
“So the guy can sing and what, do weird things with his voice? Sounds cool!”

“The young man’s power was held in his voice, anything he said that was charged with his magic, was bound to come to fruition. However the Wizard Council knew of the man’s existence and had bound his power with a necklace, a choker really. So when he was found by someone who had heard of the Emperor’s reward, he could barely protect himself from being captured and taken away from his family. The Emperor was enamored with the young man’s voice, as well as his looks, and kept him locked away in a giant birdcage within his home. Unless that is, when he was using the young man for ‘other’ pleasures.” At that, Shizuo turned to Ichi with a hard look. His wife simply shrugged, getting ready to continue.  
“Wait! So is that how he got the name nightingale? Cause he sang and was in a cage?” Masaomi had sat up during the story, and was hanging onto every word Ichi spoke.  
“Not exactly. Let me finish, darling. One day, a few years after he’d been taken, when the young man was singing for the Emperor and his guests, he attempted to use his wit to trick the Emperor and convince him to remove the binding necklace. He promised that his voice was even more beautiful when he allowed his magic to flow through it. The Emperor was first reluctant to remove the necklace, as he’d been warned against it by the Council. However his greed won out, and after many attempts, the Emperor believed him. But instead, the young man took that chance to sing a single destructive note, and killed everyone, including himself.  
Now there are tales of a very powerful type of spirit called a Mok, born from someone killing themself with their own power. The young man, after going through so much pain, had turned himself into one of these powerful spirits. With his newfound freedom, and power, and still filled with rage, the Mok went on a rampage. Until the Wizard Council made another appearance. They had come to the agreement that the Mok, who had been given the name the Nightingale, was too dangerous to live. The Council located the Nightingale and forced him into a deep sleep, with the extra security of another binding spell to keep him there.”  
Masaomi frowned again, looking for all the world like a petulant toddler,  
“So you’re telling me that after all that, they didn’t kill the Nightingale, they just put him to sleep? I feel kind of bad for the guy, he just wanted to be free.” Shizuo, who had been fading in and out of sleep listening to his wife tell the story, huffed and pushed himself up to sit against the wall,  
“The Nightingale killed hundreds of people, innocent or not, for years before the Council tracked him down. It was dangerous and didn’t care who it hurt in its revenge. I can see why’d you feel bad for it, but the things it did once it was free are unforgivable.” He reached out to run a hand through Ichi’s hair, tugging her to rest against his shoulder. “You got your story, go to bed why don’t you?” With his other hand, he gently, which for him was still pretty heavy, bopped the teenager on the head. Masaomi just grinned again and shrugged, scrambling off the bed to run out the door, throwing a;  
“Goodnight Mom, night Shizuo-san!” As he left, Shizuo turned to look at the red-eyed beauty beside him,

“A bedtime story for a sixteen year old? And you actually went with that one?”

“A bedtime story for a sixteen year old who was thrown out of his own home at the age of eight because his pathetic parents couldn’t deal with having a werewolf for a son. If that’s what he wanted, that’s what he was going to get. So hush your mouth Shizu-dear, and go to sleep like I know you want to.” Ichi’s eyes narrowed as she patted Shizuo’s cheek in an almost condescending way, as if he had said something silly and she was humoring him. He shook his head at her, and smiled softly,  
“Yeah, yeah. He’s a good kid, gets it from his mom. Now, can we please go to sleep already? Who knows what those idiots at Nebula have in store for us tomorrow.”

The Heiwajima household was a madhouse every morning, with two young adults in their mid twenties and a teenager running around trying to get everything under some semblance of control. Masaomi, who had somehow lost his homework over night, was tearing around the kitchen, yelling for Ichi to help him. Ichi herself was attempting to get some form of breakfast into the teen. Shizuo, who was already dressed and ready to go, grabbed the blonde boy as he ran past and bodily heaved him into a seat, throwing a plate down on the table, miraculously not breaking it.  
“Eat, then find your homework. Stop running around the apartment, you’ll break something. Enough shit’s been broken in here.”  
Ichi shook her head at the display from her spot by the stove,  
“Hurt my child with your monstrous strength, my dear, and I won’t forgive you. Masaomi your homework is in your bag, if you’d just look.” She sat across from him, chin in her hand, with a plate of her own as well. Her long hair was pulled up into a messy bun and she was still in her pajamas. Shizuo, who just waved off her threat with a scoff, leaned down to kiss her sweetly. He walked around to pat Masaomi on the shoulder and headed for the door.

“Tell Celty hello for me!” Ichi called after him, “And tell Shinra to call me when he gets the chance, I have some information for him that could shed some light on the thing he’s working on.”  
Shizuo waved again, shutting the door with a bang. He winced to himself, flexing his hand, looking down at it with a frown.  
The kitchen quieted once the blonde man left, leaving the teenage werewolf and his adopted mother alone. Both parties ate in silence, before the ringing of the doorbell disturbed the peace, followed by a voice announcing the presence of Ichi’s honorary second child.  
“Masaomi! Are you ready to go?” They heard Mikado sigh from the other side of the door, as the blonde jumped up to greet his best friend.  
“Of course I’m ready! Never been more ready in my life! How could you even suggest that I’d keep you waiting!” He winked and twirled around to grab his bag, waving to Ichi as he did. “See ya later Mom!”  
With a few more waves, and another round of goodbyes from Mikado, the two boys ran off to school, leaving Ichi alone in the apartment to finally get to work.


	2. Minds Not Eased

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The life created will soon unravel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know how confusing it kind of looks, but it's actually all coming together.  
> Sorry for the short chapter, these first few are mainly world/plot building so they didn't come out that long...

As the sun flowed into the apartment through the open blinds, the young nymph stood, stretching her back and making her way over to the desk set against the far wall, which was her workspace. Nebula, a scientific research center that focused on the supernatural and paranormal, and the need to keep such things separate from the outside world. While her husband worked out in the field keeping the streets safe, and empty of dangers to poor humans. She worked behind the scenes, gathering intel and keeping an eye out for anything of worth. Knowing the owner’s son had got her the job, it was that same son that had introduced her and Shizuo. Shinra was the closest thing to a best friend Ichi had ever had in her long life. As his name popped up onto her phone screen, she sat in her desk chair allowing it to spin as she answered,

“Why Shinra! To what do I owe the pleasure, there’s no way Shizu-dear already got to you, so that means you just wanted to give little ol’ me a call!”

A chuckle greeted her from the other line, “Shizuo? No, I haven’t seen him yet today actually. I wanted to call to ask you to look into something for me, well, for my dad really. He’s gotten word from a mutual friend to Nebula that something, or someone, is causing problems here in Ikebukuro. He wanted to get a good grasp on what it could be before sending a crew out to clear it up.” There was a pause, before Shinra began again, “Celty thinks it might just be a rogue witch or wizard causing trouble, but I don’t want to risk anyone going in blind.”

“Hm. I’ll definitely look into it. Go ahead and send me anything you do have, and I’ll see what I can come up with. Shouldn’t be too hard, honestly, if it is just some rogue.” Ichi let the chair slowly come to a stop, leaning over her laptop to pull up her email in wait for whatever information Nebula sent. “But! While I have you on the phone, I did have some information on that little project you and you’re dear Celty are working on. It’s not the greatest information, so don’t get too excited, but I remembered something I was told once, last night. That thing you’re looking for? At one point in time, the Nightingale was in possession of it. Mind you, this was some hundred years ago at least, but that still places it here in Japan.” She heard the sound of keyboard typing from the other line, and smiled to herself, “Tell Celty that’s all I know, unfortunately. It was probably stolen during a run-in with the Council or something, I just know that the Nightingale no longer has it, for obvious reasons.” The typing abruptly stopped, then started up again just as fast. After a moment, Shinra’s voice came back through the speaker,

“That would place it with a member of the council then, wouldn’t it? Or perhaps some other research center? Either way, thank you for this, it’s pretty good info to us.” They said their goodbyes, before hanging up.

The email from Nebula had come through some time during the conversation, and Ichi quickly clicked it. The day was soon lost to time as she dug deeper and deeper into her work. It was as if no time had passed at all for Ichi when she heard the lock click and the familiar voices of Masaomi and Mikado filter into the apartment. One of the boys, most likely Mikado, called out a greeting to her as they made their way to the kitchen to get snacks. After some commotion, the boys relocated to the couch in the middle of the living room. Masaomi threw himself into a position that allowed him to see her, grinning from ear to ear,

“You’ll never guess what happened at school! I’m actually surprised you didn’t see the news. You must have been really busy today!” At Ichi’s raised eyebrow in his direction, he continued,

“There was an explosion in the city, some gas pipe is what they said, but it caused the school to panic and go into bomb threat mode. So we got to chill in the gym for a while!”

“They think there’s a bomb threat and they don’t contact the parents? Amazing, why do I pay for you to go to this school again?” She let out a long suffering sigh to the heavens before returning her attention to the boys on the couch. “There was an explosion in the city? I’ll have to ask Shizuo when he gets home if he heard anything about it.”

By the time night rolled around, and Shizuo hadn’t made it home, Ichi gave up waiting for him. While the boys watched TV on the couch, she set about to start up dinner. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for Shizuo to be working late into the night, he missed dinner at least twice a week. As she prepared the broth for miso soup, she could hear her phone vibrating from the desk where it had been left.

“Masaomi, be a dear and grab the phone for me, would you? I’ve got my hands full.” She could hear him scramble off the couch and winced at the loud thud of him falling to the ground instead. A moment later she could hear him greet whoever had called, then his voice cutting off at whatever it was that was said over the phone. Ichi turned to the living room, walking out to take the phone and find out what was happening for herself. Stalking over to where Masaomi had gone oddly quiet, she pulled the phone from him with a sharp,

“Hello? Who is it?”

“Ichi?” Shinra, “Hey, have you heard from Shizuo since he left this morning? Celty said she saw him come into work, and I asked Tom, but he said they had separate cases today. No one saw him come into the building after work though, so I figured he just went home, but Masaomi tells me he’s not home?” The last sentence ending as a question shook Ichi out of the slight panic that had gripped her as Shinra spoke.

“No, he hasn’t come home. It’s possible that his case ran long and he’s still working. Did Tom hear what his case was, perhaps they can send someone out as backup?” She cradled the phone on her shoulder as she made her way back into the kitchen, waving off Masaomi and Mikado’s questioning looks. Now that the initial panic had receded it allowed her to think about the situation rationally. This wasn’t the first time a case had ran long enough for someone to get worried. They would handle it as they always did; send backup, then, if that didn’t work, pull back and call for a Council member. Sometimes she swore they would get nowhere without her to remind them of the simplest procedures.

“Come on Shinra, it’s not like you to get so worried. Shizu-dear’s a big boy, he can take care of himself. I’m sure he’ll finish his case and come home. I’ll call you in the morning to ease your mind, how about that?” With that, she hung up the phone and went back to her meal preparations. Her phone vibrated once more after that, then it seemed Shinra gave up and let it be. Masaomi and Mikado both had appeared at the table behind her when she turned to place their bowls down. They thanked her for the food before digging in with gusto, and, as she sat down, she sent a silent prayer to whatever could be listening that Shizuo would get home safe and sound.


	3. Tests of Strength and Will

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shizuo struggles while his friends scramble to find him.

A glaring light woke Shizuo. In his sleep addled brain, he could sense that something was wrong. Berserkers were known to be incredibly aware of their surroundings, even being able to sense the slightest of disturbances, or so it was said. Shizuo wouldn’t really know other than from personal experience, he was the only Berserker to have been discovered in hundreds of years. There were voices around him, none that he recognized. He attempted to move, but found himself unable for the moment. Panic took him then, and he sharpened his hearing, making out the faint sounds of conversation again. 

“He’s awake! Still immobilized, though, good good.” An older man’s voice spoke, sounding from somewhere to Shizuo’s left. Another voice responded, a young woman’s to his right,

“The tranquilizer in his system won’t last for much longer, we must hurry if we intend to do the tests today.” Tests? Shizuo tried to move, anything, and realized he could barely begin to move his neck. These people were planning on doing tests on him. He knew the Council wanted to do research on the first Berserker in years, but he’d been pretty transparent about not wanting to be their guinea pig. A sudden searing pain, like fire in his veins, shot through him, starting at his arm, and his body bowed involuntarily. A loud shout echoed in Shizuo’s head, before he even realized he’d been the one to shout. As he came back into himself, the woman’s voice spoke again, mid sentence.

“-eems he can still feel pain, though most outward injury is muted.” 

Finally being a little clear headed after such intense pain, Shizuo was able to loll his head to the side and finally look at the woman speaking. Brown hair in a ponytail, and brown eyes met his. No change to her facial expression was apparent as they looked at one another, though when she touched his arm another fresh wave of pain rolled over him. 

This time when he awoke he was able to move. He found himself in a large empty room, lights still blinding, and alone. As his eyes roamed the room, he realized it was more of a pit. The ceiling was raised high above where the walls themselves stopped, a few feet at least. The walls and ceiling he realized were made of carbon steel, the whole room was. He walked over to one of the walls and sent a full force punch its way. The room rang with the resounding boom, but there was no give. This place, wherever he was, was made to keep him in. 

A loud yell woke Ichi, and she shot up in alarm, immediately feeling her magic swell within her despite knowing she couldn’t use it. Masaomi came barreling into her room with Mikado close behind, both laughing and she let herself fall back to the bed. As the boys ran around the room she reached over to feel for Shizuo, only to hit an empty bed. Ichi shot up once again to look for herself, needing to see that her husband was still missing, as if she’d somehow missed him with her arm. 

“Masaomi get me my phone, now.” Her son froze, mid step to look over at her, then nodded and took off toward the living room. Once her phone was in her hand, she called Shinra.

“Now we panic, Shizuo’s not here, I’m going to assume he’s not there.” She said matter-of-factly as soon as Shinra had picked up. Beside her, Masaomi took hold of her sleeve to get her attention. He pointed at the time, then himself and Mikado, and with a sigh she nodded her assent, and the two boys ran from the room again. On the phone, Shinra hadn’t even spoken yet. She’d heard his initial intake of breath after her announcement, then nothing more. A moment passed before Shinra finally answered. 

“You’d be correct in saying he’s not here. I had my wonderful Celty search for him quickly, just in case, but she didn’t find him.” A pause, most likely to read something Celty had written, “Celty says she asked Tom what Shizuo’s case was yesterday but he wasn’t there for the briefing. Ichi, we don’t have anything to go off of.” 

A thought hit her and she quickly ran to her laptop. 

“There was an explosion in the city yesterday, Masaomi told me about it after he got home. If it had anything to do with our side of things, then it could have been Shizu-dear.” Typing furiously into her laptop, she pulled up forum after forum before stopping on one in particular. “Here we go...Well, it was definitely my Shizuo. This forum has a first hand account of watching a whole fight go down. It says that both parties were injured and one taken away by special medics, while the other was taken into custody. So Shizu-dear finished his case but was taken away by our medics. Why haven’t they gotten in touch with me then?” She sat heavily down into her office chair, holding the phone tightly, her other hand coming up to rub her temples. In her ear she heard Shinra talking quietly, realized he was talking to Celty, not her, and promptly tuned him back out to think. Nebula’s medics had Shizuo, so why the hush about it? Why not tell anyone? Why not contact her, his wife? It was even weirder that Shinra, who was in charge while his dad was out on Council business, was unaware. Tuning back into Shinra on the phone, she realized that she’d missed something he’d said, 

“Ichi? Are you still there? Did you stop listening to me? I could have been saying something really important and you probably missed it!” She cut off his whining by clearing her throat loudly into the phone before speaking,

“Why were we not made aware of Shizu-dear’s situation? Don’t you think it’s odd that even you didn't know? You are supposed to be in charge right now, aren’t you?” She stood, placing a hand on her hip, leaning against her desk as they conversed. Shinra seemed to be speechless for a second before collecting himself and humming quietly before responding. 

“That’s very true. Unless, and hear me out, unless this was ordered by someone other than Nebula. We don’t actually know if those medics were ours or not, you just said ‘special medics’ not Nebula medics.” There was the sound of a door closing before Shinra continued, a little quieter, “Think about it, there’s no reason why medics under Nebula would keep Shizuo’s condition from us. But the Council has talked about doing testing on him before, maybe this is their doing?” 

“I hope you understand that you’re accusing the Council, which your dad is apart of, of kidnapping and forced experimentation. Shinra that’s...actually not as outlandish as I’m making it seem, is it.” 

After many hours and attempts at escape, slamming into the walls, punching, kicking, roaring for someone to explain to him what he was doing in this room, Shizuo had finally tired himself out. Sliding to sit against the cool metal, he stared down at his bloodied knuckles, clenching his fists. Blood dripped to land in front of him, coloring the also metal-plated floor. With a sigh, the Berserker let his head fall back, the noise of the impact echoing. He wasn’t sure exactly how long he’d been there, as no way to tell the passage of time had been given to him. He’d already frantically gone through his pockets to realize that whoever had taken him hostage had been smart enough to take his phone and wallet. The old man and woman from before had disappeared, leaving Shizuo to wonder if he’d somehow dreamed them up. However he was pretty sure he couldn’t dream up the pain that seared through his body when the woman had touched him. With another heavy sigh, he pushed himself up to stand again.

“You could at least do the tests you said you were going to!” He roared out into the empty room, throwing another punch in anger. The reverberations of the punch at first covered up the sound of slow clapping to his left. With a start, Shizuo twisted to look up at the top of the wall, where there stood a man he actually recognized. Shiki Haruya, someone he’d seen at Nebula for his own work, crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at him with a slight smirk. 

“So this is some Council thing, huh, can’t say I’m that surprised.” The blonde Berserker made eye contact with the Yakuza Council member, letting a grin stretch across his face. The slightly older man stepped up to the wall, causing Shizuo to realize the room was actually built more like a colosseum, with the walls having areas carved out so people could view the pit Shizuo was stuck in. The sudden thought came to him, that the tests had probably already started, and he was likely playing right into their hands. 

“I think we can head to the next stage. You see, this is quite a discovery for us, to finally be able to examine a Berserker. We’ll be seeing how much trauma you can take before your body gives out, as a way to test your stamina.” Shiki waved his hand to someone Shizuo couldn’t see, and there was the sound of something dropping to the ground. Before he could even turn to look, Shiki was gone, there was a popping sound, before a bright light encompassed his vision and what felt like hundreds of bullets hitting him at once. Normally Shizuo could handle getting shot, one positive note of being a Berserker, but the sudden amount of hits had him throwing himself as far from what he’d come to find out was a shrapnel bomb, as he could. He hit the opposite wall with another loud bang, and the pain of it was the last thing he remembered for a while. 

Ichi strode into the main Nebula building with enough murderous intent that Erika and Walker, who had taken a few steps toward her in greeting, both faltered before deciding against the action. Shinra looked up from where he was talking to Togusa, who sat behind the secretary’s desk for the day. He beckoned her over, pulling her by the arm down the hallway the moment he got a hand on her.

“Alright, we don’t need you scaring people. You barely come to the building, most people who work here don’t even know who you are by sight. We can talk about our situation in my office, Celty’s waiting for us.” 

The nymph yanked her arm away from her friend, letting out a huff of angry breath. She overtook him easily, entering the office before the doctor could stop her. Celty, who sat on the desk scrolling through her phone, waved to acknowledge her. She held out her phone, apparently already having something written out to tell Ichi.

‘The last time anyone heard from Shizuo was yesterday about lunchtime. He checked in like he usually does. The explosion you told us about happened around 3 in the afternoon.’ She pulled the screen back to type some more, ‘Do we have any idea who might have sent out the medics that took him?’ 

As Ichi read what the Dullahan had typed, she made herself comfortable in Shinra’s desk chair, leaving the brunette to stand beside Celty, where he wrapped his arms around her without hesitation. 

“Unfortunately there are a few places that could have sent them, most of them having some connection to a member of the Council. Without some way to see if the medics had any identifying marks, as there are no pictures, I checked, it will be harder to find whoever is responsible.” Ichi looked to the couple, frowning to herself at her own words. “When I find whoever thought it would be smart to kidnap my husband, they will be paying with their lives. Every single one of them.” 


	4. The Nightingale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How it all falls down

It was with a loud yell that Shizuo woke for the third time. Pain exploded over his body again, and he threw his head around wildly to try to see if Shiki or anyone else he’d encountered was around this time as well. Sitting up at the top of the colosseum wall, was most of the Council staring down at him with varying levels of interest. Another wave of pain rushed over him as he focused on what was happening. He realized it was a hose of scalding water that he was being repeatedly hit with. The clothes he was wearing, which were still his normal work clothes his brother had bought for him, were soaked and plastered to his skin. A resounding wave of applause hit his ears as the Council above him began to clap. One of them stood, someone Shizuo didn’t recognize, spreading his arms wide.

“You truly are an amazing being Heiwajima. Even now, you still stand with barely any resistance from your body. Have you felt any of the hits we’ve sent your way?” He did recognize the voice as the man he’d heard the first time he’d awoken, but there was no name he could pull from memory that matched him. 

“The hell are you doing to me? I’ll kill you all when I get out of here! I’ll kill you dead!” Uproarious laughter was Shizuo’s only response, from almost his entire audience. It was the young woman who gave him an actual answer however,

“Unfortunately Heiwajima, the tests we have in store for you do not allow for you to be alive much longer. You see our last test is to turn this room into a gas chamber before we dissect you for more information on your kind. The world doesn’t exactly have a need for Berserker’s anymore, so killing you shouldn’t upset the order.” She stood, along with the rest, to take places on either side of the old man. “You should be proud to give your body over to our research. It will help with many different medical and scientific findings of ours.” 

Shizuo’s eyes widened at her words, as he frantically looked around for any type of escape. The Council was planning to kill him and dissect him for research. After finally making a life for himself, getting married, taking in a child, he was happy. He had meaning, his monstrous strength, with which he’d struggled his whole life, had found a purpose. The blonde thought of Ichi, his wife, who loved him, Berserker blood and all. He thought of Masaomi and Mikado, both boys had never once acted afraid of him. Shinra and Celty, his best friends, who had supported him through everything. Mostly Celty, Shinra wanted to dissect him like all the rest, really. With those thoughts running around, he did what he did best. 

He used his head.

With a mighty roar, he threw himself head first at the wall directly in front of him. Headbutting the wall wasn’t exactly his smartest move, feeling blood run down his face from the impact. But when he looked up, squinting through the pain of the hit, he saw that he’d made a dent in the carbon steel. Renewed hope filled the blonde, and he sent a punch toward that same spot. The walls around him vibrated from the force of his punches, the sound of the Council’s murmurs and laughter filled his ears, driving him even more. It seemed they would leave him be to punch at the walls, blood splattering with each hit from his already torn apart knuckles. 

Mizuki Akabayashi hit the wall of Shinra’s office with enough force to send him through the drywall. Shadows crawled up the walls to restrain him, tight in their hold. Celty, holding her scythe out to gently rest against the Yakuza’s neck, shook with repressed rage. Ichi, her eyes narrowed, stalked closer to run a finger up the man’s throat, stopping just under his chin.

“Tell me, Council Member Akabayashi, where exactly is my husband. I know your little club had something to do with his disappearance.” 

“Please, I came here to help. Heiwajima doesn’t have much time left, the Council plans to gas him tonight in preparation for dissection.” The older man struggled fruitlessly against Celty’s shadows as Ichi and Shinra shot each other a look that spoke volumes. The red-eyed nymph turned her glare back onto the Council member in front of them,

“So they plan to kill him and use his body for research? Absolutely not. They will find themselves dead long before they dare touch my Shizu-chan. Since you say you’re here to help, then tell us, where is my husband?” 

Akabayashi sighed, gave one last pitiful struggle, before he let his head hang, “They have him underneath the Yagiri pharmaceuticals building, locked in a special containment room made specifically for him. There’s no way you’ll be able to get in without my help. The underground is only accessible to Council members who have the key.”

“Oh that’s easy. Just give us the key!” Shinra stepped forward with a hand held out, a slightly crazed smile on his face. 

“It’s a magic key. I can’t just give it to you, or I would. I want nothing to do with this, however I don’t think it’s right to experiment on an unwilling subject.” 

The three of them shot glances to each other with varying levels of emotion. Celty, even headless, gave off an air of concern, for Ichi, especially for Shizuo. Shinra still had that grin on his face but there was slight panic in his eyes. Ichi’s face had gone completely blank with no trace of emotion but for a slight uptick of her mouth, as if the whole situation amused her. 

“They’re planning to kill him tonight, so I supposed it would be best if we made our move immediately. The sooner we get Shizu-chan back home the better, for everyone.”

Celty quickly unwrapped Akabayashi from her shadows, typing out an apology to him as she did. He waved her off with a smile, before turning to Shinra.

“Yagiri pharmaceuticals is halfway across the city. If we even want to get to the building in time, let alone under it, we need to leave now.” 

Yagiri Pharmaceuticals main building in downtown Ikebukuro was a massive skyscraper that cut the sky like a knife. Ichi, Shinra, Celty, and Akabayashi all stood on the road across from the building’s main door. They didn’t look very much like they were ready for a rescue, the only one of them that held anything was Celty, keeping her bike steady on the pavement. After a single moment to compose herself, Ichi took the first step towards the door, flitting across the street quickly without looking back to make sure the rest followed. 

As the group entered, Akabayashi pushed to the front, signaling them to follow his lead. He took them to an unassuming side door, flashing his hand at the lock, causing a symbol to appear as if drawn on with a sparkler. A click was heard as the door opened. Akabayashi ushered them in and they faced a long corridor. What looked like a long beam of light ran the length of the ceiling down to where another door waited. Echoes of their footsteps were the only sound they made as the four of them made their way down the hall. Stopping short once there, Akabayashi pushed to the front again, using his hand to unlock this door as well. Shinra stepped through first, Celty close on his heels, worried for her fiance. Ichi looked to Akabayashi to enter first, but he shook his head,

“I’m afraid this is as far as I’m going. I disagree with the choice the Council made, but my position is too important to give up for one man.” 

Pushing past him without a word, Ichi stepped through the door into an oval room. Doors were positioned on both the immediate left and right of a large desk that sat against the wall in front of them. A large set of double doors against the left wall was the only other way out of the room. 

“Is this where we split up to all look in a different door?” Shinra asked from beside Ichi. Celty waved her hands frantically, her helmet turning side to side in opposition. Ichi however, nodded once.

“It’s the best course if we’re to find Shizuo in time.” 

A loud thud broke through the conversation, and the three of them froze. They turned toward the double doors to the left as a unit, Ichi and Shinra throwing each other quick looks. A silent conversation took place, before they all made their way as quietly as possible to enter. Another thud, with an added metallic clang, sounded out, speeding up their steps. Shinra grabbed the handles, immediately letting go with a yell of pain. Celty rushed forward to check on him, while Ichi regarded the doors. 

“Shinra, try flashing your hand at the lock, how our Council member friend did. Perhaps it will work a little better than just grabbing the handle of a magic council’s door.” She looked back at him, that same small smile on her face as before. He shot her a nasty look before walking back toward the door and doing as she suggested. When nothing happened, he shrugged and rocked back on his heels,

“That was a bust, good idea anyway. Have any more of those? We’re still a little locked out.” 

Before Ichi could say anything, she felt more than saw the razor thin blade slice through the air and she jumped backwards toward where the couple stood.

“Seems our welcome party has finally arrived. Celty if you would help me a little?” 

Shadows along the wall began to waver, but a bright white light appeared, like a spotlight that shone throughout the oval room. Ichi growled lowly to herself, reaching for her magic to fend off the Council. Just as the ground began to crack, vines beginning to grow, a loud crash resounded from behind them. The double doors crumbled and Shizuo himself stepped through. Everything seemed to freeze for a single solitary moment as everyone looked at one another. Shizuo took in the scene he was facing. Ichi’s head swiveled between Shizuo and the woman Council member who’d just stepped forward to fight. Shinra had begun mumbling a spell to protect Celty, who at the appearance of the bright light had shrunk away into herself. 

The berserker took one more look around before his strength finally gave out, and he collapsed. Shinra rushed forward to catch him, faltering a bit under his weight. The doctor looked to Ichi, just as the rest of the Council made their way into the room. Ichi made eye contact with her best friend, coming to the realization that, somehow, it was up to her to get them out.

“No one has to get hurt here.” One of the Council was saying, once Ichi turned her attention back to the threat in front of them, “All we need is to finish our research, so leave the Berserker, and you all are free to go.”

“What happens if that’s not exactly our plan? I don’t quite like the idea of leaving him here with you.” Spreading her arms to either side of her, she shrugged, taking a step backwards to where Shinra held up Shizuo.

“We will take him by force if necessary. I don’t think you can take us all by yourself young lady. I’ll give you the option to leave once more.” 

Another blade sliced through the air, cutting right past her cheek, pulling her attention toward the woman Council member again. With a few more steps backwards, Izaya held out his wrist to the barely conscious Shizuo.

“Shizu-chan, I need you to do me a favor, love. See my bracelet? I need you to break it off.” 

Not one to question often, Shizuo did as he was requested. Reaching forward weakly, he gripped the small band around his love’s wrist and pulled. He was met with a surprising amount of resistance. Shooting a questioning look at the band of fabric, he tightened his grip, tugging hard as his weakened arm could. With a weirdly echoing tearing, the band finally fell to the floor.

A sinister grin overtook the Mok’s face as he let his appearance melt away to take on his normal human-like form. Piercing carmine eyes roamed over the group of Council members lazily. He ran a hand through his now short black hair, humming quietly. A hum that reverberated around the room, the air itself shaking. Shinra gasped from behind him, and he turned to give him a manic stretch of lips attempting to be a smile. 

“Don’t you worry Doctor, I’m about to make good on my promise of what would happen when I found them.”

A flash of pain had Izaya whipping around to pin the Council with his gaze again. Feeling a drop of blood well from the new cut on his cheek, he laughed,

“You’re new to the Council since I last had a chance to see it. To whom do I owe the pleasure of killing first, my dear?” 

“My name is Kasane Kujiragi, and it is I who will have the pleasure of finally ridding the world of The Nightingale.” A third blade split the still quaking air, finally ending the hold the single note had on the room. Each Council member suddenly moved at once, shaking off the last dredges of the spell, readying themselves to attack. They flanked Kasane, spells at the ready. 

It was an odd stand-off. A group of five of the most powerful in the Wizard Order, fearfully conjuring spells. All to fight what looked like one young man, who was actually one of the greatest dangers in Japan’s history. Izaya hummed again, sending a rush of pure magic in an arc around himself and his friends, if he could still call them that. It hit the Council at once, but was dissipated by Shiki who had thrown up a shield spell at the last second. His eyes glinted, another grin spreading across his face. 

“I would like to know, before I kill you all. Which one of you is the unfortunate soul that allowed the kidnapping of Shizuo Heiwajima?”

When none of them spoke, he shrugged, 

“Very well. If no one will take responsibility, I suppose you all will have to.” He made eye contact with the oldest of the Council, his grin sharpening,

“Ah, Yodogiri. You are the worst Wizard on your Council. Truly a pitiful excuse for any magic user. I think it’s finally time you  **ceased to exist** .” 

Magic was only as strong as the will of its user, and Izaya’s will, after going so long unable to use his own magic, having to imitate others, was overflowing. Yodogiri gasped once, turning to dust before anyone could retaliate. Another Council member, who Izaya faintly recognized as the head of the Awakusu-kai, threw a blast of magic his way. He didn’t dare dodge with Shizuo and Shinra still behind him, bracing himself for impact, he ducked his head and crossed his arms in front of himself. However the blow never came, instead there was the ringing sound of magic striking a barrier, then the familiar voice of Shingen Kishitani,

“I think it’s about time we stop this nonsense! If you all keep on, you’ll bring the whole building down around us. I for one don’t feel like dying here! Full offense Seitarou.” 

The Nightingale lowered his arms to his sides, looking up to find Shinra’s father posed dramatically in front of him with both hands on his hips. He shook his head to himself, sighing, taking a chance to quickly glance at Shizuo to assess his condition. Hate-filled brown eyes met his, and he looked away just as quickly. A hand falling onto his shoulder pulled him back to the moment, realizing that Shingen and the rest of the Council were still talking.

“Very well. We will halt our research with the Berserker at this time. However, once we kill the Nightingale for good, I would like the permission to -”

Izaya cut them off with a laugh like broken glass,

“You won’t be able to dissect me, dear. Once I truly die, my body simply dissipates. A Mok’s true form is a smokey silhouette, we’re just powerful energy in physical form. However, since I got what I wanted by coming here, I’ll come quietly.” Throwing his arms out in front of him, he winked at Shingen, 

“I do request that you keep me at Nebula while you decide my ultimate fate. They certainly have the best containment facilities.”

The Council all seemed shocked by Izaya’s easy surrender, but all gathered around to place another binding spell on him. It was Celty who stopped them, wrapping her shadows around Izaya, cocooning him in a large black ball. 

‘He already agreed to come quietly. I can keep him in my shadows until we get him to containment.’ 

Shiki made to argue, but Shingen held up a hand to stop him. 

“Celty makes a fair statement. We don’t need to punish him for cooperating with us. He won’t be able to escape a Dullahan’s shadows.” 


	5. Making Amends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Masaomi will get to the bottom of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was originally supposed to be about Shizuo...but Masaomi took over.

Masaomi Kida had had a hard first few years of life. His birth parents hadn’t been the best. They’d never hurt him, or beat him, but they didn’t exactly care for him. When he’d been bit by a werewolf at the age of eight, his parents had run him out of the house screaming. He’d found himself alone. He’d found himself hunted. And after being captured by one of Nebula’s clean up teams and brought in, he’d thought that was the end for him. It turned out he was wrong, instead, he’d been given a second chance to have a good life.

Ichi Okinawa, at the time, had taken one look at him and adopted him into her life. According to her, it was an accident that she was even in the building when they’d brought him in. Masaomi had taken it as a miracle. It had been eight years since, Ichi had gotten married, so she was now Ichi Heiwajima, the two of them had moved in with Shizuo, the husband, and the now teenaged werewolf was happy. He had good friends, a good home life, and a mom that would do anything for him. 

Now it seemed that was changing once again. 

Masaomi watched as Shizuo paced around the apartment in long angry strides, nervously chewing his lip.

“Um, Shizuo? Are you going to tell me what happened? Don’t tell mom I said it, but you look like you got fucked up.” At the mention of his mom, Shizuo winced, and Masaomi zeroed in on the action, “Did something happen to my mom?” 

Shizuo ran a hand down his face, finally stopping his pacing and sitting down on the couch beside the teenager. 

“Look kid, this is gonna be hard to explain. You know that story Ichi told you the other night? ‘Bout the Nightingale?” He waited for a nod before continuing, “I guess to put it as bluntly as possible, Ichi’s the Nightingale. And no one knew. Also a man, apparently.” Shizuo growled the last part out, throwing his head back against the couch, cracking the frame, if the loud sound was anything to go by. 

“Ok, sure, so mom’s really a guy, and is also a super powerful creature from folklore? That’s kind of cool! I mean, a little weird, yeah, but cool!” He jumped up and down a little, “I can see why it’d be weird for you cause you guys got married and all, but it really doesn’t change the fact that she, he? He took me in and raised me. He’s still my mom. Where is he by the way?” 

The older blonde lifted his head to look at the teen, the sadness in his expression letting Masaomi know that whatever the answer, it wasn’t good. 

“Nebula. Awaiting the verdict of the Council on how best to kill him.”

Hopping off the couch to stand in front of Shizuo, the young werewolf exclaimed,

“What? No! They can’t just kill him, he hasn’t done anything!”

“It’s what’s best. The Nightingale is too dangerous, and apparently their last attempt to just put him to sleep didn’t work. They’ve already agreed to kill him and be done with it. There’s nothing we can do. He lied to me, and you, for years about who he really was, he’s getting what’s coming to him.” The Berserker leaned forward as he spoke, reaching for his cigarettes on the table. Grabbing the pack he stood to walk out to the balcony,

“Try not to think about it too much, kid.” 

Instead of listening, Masaomi waited until Shizuo was out of sight smoking, before taking off out the door pulling out his phone to text the one person he knew would help him. 

When he arrived outside the Nebula building, Celty was already waiting. She sat astride her black bike, having come from hers and Shinra’s apartment to meet with him. Masaomi abandoned a normal greeting in order to hug her tightly, looking up at her. The pair quickly relocated to the small park across the street, taking seats on a bench close to the middle still in view of Nebula. 

“Do you also think it’s the right thing to kill my mom?” Was the first question the teen asked, once he’d made himself comfortable. The Dullahan pulled out her phone, typing quickly, 

‘I haven’t come to a conclusion yet. I want to talk to Ichi first. No one’s been able to yet. The Council has barred anyone from entering the containment area.’ She deleted the text to start typing again, ‘Right now, going off of what I know of him, and what I witnessed yesterday, I think the Nightingale is very dangerous, but manageable. So I don’t think death is the proper response.’ After a small pause, the clacking of her keys filled the silence between them once more. ‘Would you like to see him? If we can convince Shingen to allow you to talk to him, I think we might be able to get somewhere.’ 

Hope spread through Masaomi like a wave, if he could just talk to his mom, if he could somehow save him, he was willing to try. Perhaps the good life that he’d found for himself wasn’t about to be taken from him. First he needed to make it through Nebula, maybe even Shizuo, who seemed to have given up entirely. But Masaomi Kida was no quitter, his mother deserved better than to be killed for things done hundreds of years ago. Turning to the Dullahan, he clapped his hands together once allowing a smile to spread across his face. 

“I’m going to go talk to him! Whether Doctor K says so or not!” 

“That’s the spirit Masaomi! Good thing I’m also Doctor K, and in charge right now since my dad’s back out on business again.” Shinra’s voice had the poor boy twisting around in alarm, before the smile returned to his face.

“You’ll really let me go talk to the Nightingale? Isn’t that supposed to be dangerous?” He teased, crossing his arms in defiance.

“Sure is! But if I know anything about Ichi, not the Nightingale, but Ichi, it’s that out of anyone, you’re in the least danger.” 

Containment was located underground, below Nebula’s bottom floor. It consisted of a large oval room, like the one under Yagiri Pharmaceuticals, but instead of doors leading out, two hallways broke off to the right and left. Down each hallway were five large rooms, side by side. Each square room was brightly lit with white light, where almost no shadows could hide, and held a single futon, a toilet, and a sink. Izaya had been placed in the last room in the right hallway. Instead of a binding spell, Shingen had placed a slip of fabric around his throat complete with a Restricting spell. If he were to attempt any magic within containment, the fabric would tighten and cut off his breathing, also cutting off any noise he could possibly make. That had not stopped Izaya from talking, or singing. Soft notes could be heard down the hallway as Shinra led Masaomi to the proper room. They stopped right outside the door, where the sound abruptly ended. Shinra did a quick hand sign towards the door, which became transparent to show the Mok sitting on the futon, staring right at them. Once it was shown to be Masaomi with the doctor however, Izaya straightened, mouth falling open in shock.

“You...came to see me?” He breathed out, standing suddenly to rush forward. “I thought for sure you wouldn’t be allowed down here.” 

“Doctor K let me in, I wanted to talk to you. I have a few questions.” The blonde teen took a seat in the visitor’s chair that Shinra had pulled over for him. Izaya nodded silently, watching him wearily. After he was settled, he continued, “First thing I want to know; were you ever going to tell anyone who you were if we hadn’t found out?” 

Izaya snuck a look at Shinra before answering, “No, actually. I was not planning on revealing myself as being the Nightingale. It was a sudden irrational decision done to protect Shizu-chan, as much as I hate to admit it.” After a heavy sigh, he threw his arms in the air, as if the whole situation was just a small inconvenience, “I’m trying to leave my days of killing needlessly behind. Though it is in a Mok’s nature to enjoy taking a life.” 

It was Celty who asked the next question, holding up her phone before Masaomi could speak again,

‘I have to know, do we still call you Ichi? You’ve already shown that your identity was a lie. So tell us the truth now, who are you?’ 

With a flourish of his arms, and a deep bow, The Nightingale finally introduced himself, “My name is Izaya Orihara, known by the world as the Nightingale. As you already know, I am a Mok, a powerful spirit created when a person expends too much power and is consumed by their own magic. I have been alive far longer than most of you, and, as long as the Council doesn’t decide to kill me, will live far longer as well. It was my wish to shed my old name, with its reputation, and start a new life. Since a Mok can take on any form they wish, I chose to be the exact opposite of my true human form, so the Council would not recognize me.” With another shrug of his shoulders, and a broken grin sent their way, Izaya turned from them to rag-doll onto the futon behind him. 

“And as always, something had to come along to ruin my plans. This time it was my own pathetic feelings. Such pesky things, you see.” 

Masaomi, who’d been listening quietly, scoffed,

“Yeah ok mom. You can pretend you don’t care, but what’s going to happen if they do kill you?” 

“I assume you’ll live with Shizu-chan, he does care for you, he won’t let anything happen to you. Don’t you worry darling.” 

“That’s not what I meant and you know it! I don’t want to lose my mom, but it looks like you’ve already given up, just like Shizuo.” A shudder ran through Izaya at the mention of the Berserker, he curled into himself, the comment impacting him more than he expected.

With a grunt of frustration, the young blonde took off back down the hall, leaving Shinra and Celty alone with Izaya. Shinra shot one last look to his friend before following the teen. Celty tapped on the door softly to get the attention of its occupant. Once he finally looked up, she placed her phone against the still clear door. 

‘Can we talk some more?’ 

“What would you like to talk about my dear Dullahan?” 

Shinra caught up to Masaomi just as the teen made it to the door, snatching his arm, stopping him from leaving the building entirely. The young doctor had only truly spoken with the werewolf a few times, so he was out of his depth when it came to attempting to comfort him. As the blonde turned to him, pulling his arm away, Shinra saw the unshed tears that had gathered in his eyes. The thought that this boy, for he still was a boy, was about to lose the one adult in his life that had ever truly cared for him hit him like a punch to the chest. While he was leaning towards agreeing with the Council, if only purely for reasons regarding the safety of the public, Shinra decided then and there. Izaya had to live. If that required special precautions, so be it.

He caught Masaomi by the shoulder, leaning down slightly to look the boy in the eye. It was harder than it should have been, with the tears finally having fallen. It made something clench in Shinra’s chest, 

“We’re going to do everything we can to convince the Council to not kill Ich-Izaya, ok? You don’t want to lose your mom, and we don’t want you to.” His mind made up, he finally let the boy go to run out the door.

‘How much of these past years was a lie, and how much was the truth?’

The question seemed to have left Izaya speechless. Celty thought it was pretty straight-forward. It was the one thing that she wanted to know, if not only for her peace of mind, but as a way to pass judgment. If the Nightingale had spent the last years lying to her best friend, using him as a way to hide himself from the Council she could never forgive that. After a few full minutes of silence from Izaya, who had positioned himself on the futon, sitting facing her leaning back against the wall, the Mok spoke quietly, 

“I lied about many things, dear Celty, but the thing I never lied about, were my feelings for any one of you.” His eyes held a glint to them, “That’s what you want to hear, correct? That’s the real question you’re asking. You want to know if I led Shizu-chan and Masaomi along so that I could play at having a happy family until I grew bored of them and moved on to more interesting things?” A laugh forced itself out of his throat, sounding more like a sob, “Ahh, you truly are the most caring Dullahan I’ve ever met, not that I’ve met any others.” 

‘Thank you for your honesty, Izaya.’ 

“How do you know I’m telling the truth? I could be lying to get you on my side.” Another sob-laugh left the Mok as he let his head fall back. The helmet on Celty’s shoulders tilted slightly to the side, she knew he was telling the truth from the raw emotion that had shown on his face at seeing Masaomi on the other side of the door, and his subconscious reaction to the boy’s last comment. She knew better than to tell him that though, and with a last wave, walked away down the hall to find her fiance. The two of them had a Council to talk to.


	6. Shizuo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relationships are hard, just ask Shizuo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do apologize to those who follow this story. Retail management during the holidays is very busy, and I am but a simple human attempting to live. I had to put the writing on hold for a while, but hopefully regular updates should start back up again.

Dusk fell, the red of the sun filling the apartment as it began its descent through the sky. Shizuo watched its journey from the couch, motionless but for the rise and fall of his chest. His mind was racing with thoughts. The blonde man had never been one to sit and ruminate on feelings and emotions, usually preferring to face everything with brute force. Normally it was Ichi who did the thinking in their relationship, but with Ichi being a lie, the ball was now in his court. The Berserker had questions, none of which would get answered if he stayed in the apartment. No, the only one who could ease his mind and answer anything was locked away, soon to be disposed of by the Council. Shizuo stood then, pulling his cigarettes out, making his way to the balcony for yet another smoke break. 

Inhaling the nicotine deeply, feeling the burn of it spread through his chest, trying to get a clear head. The city kept going around him, noises from the street filtering up to where he stood gazing out at the skyscape. Crushing the now finished cigarette under his heel, Shizuo let out a breath, making up his mind right then that, if allowed, he and the Nightingale needed to have a talk. Sounds from inside the apartment made themselves known, voices he recognized as Masaomi and Mikado. Another breath left him, this time of relief. He’d been worried when he’d gone back in that morning to find the teen had left. 

Sliding the balcony door open, the man stepped into the living room, meeting the gazes of both boys, who’d gotten situated on the couch. Masaomi ignored him, choosing instead to suddenly get very invested in whatever was playing on the TV. Mikado gave him a small, almost apologetic smile. Shizuo nodded his greeting but kept moving through the apartment to head to his room, deciding to turn in for the night. Tomorrow, he concluded, he would go to Nebula and talk to the Nightingale himself, get the answers he so desperately needed. 

The next morning found Shizuo barely able to move. Somehow the night before, he’d made it home without collapsing from his injuries, most likely from left over adrenaline and the added confusion of finding out his wife wasn’t really what she said she was. Shinra had given him a full examination before he’d left Nebula, saying that with Shizuo’s stamina and already accelerated healing he would feel some soreness but should be fine after a few days. However as he lay in bed, listening to the distant noises of the boys in the kitchen, he found no motivation to get up. 

Sunlight wove through the curtains, basking the room in a slight grey glow. After some time just watching the dust particles float in the rays of sun, he reached across the bed to grab his phone from the table beside him. Shingen had somehow found the thing, along with his wallet, the crazy old man. Shizuo didn’t think it important to ask how. Unlocking the screen sent a pang of grief through him as the background picture of him and Ichi lit up. He shook off the feeling, steeling his heart. He scrolled through his contacts until he hit Shinra and pressed the phone to his ear. The doctor answered after the second ring, sounding concerned, 

“Shizuo? Are you ok? Are your inj-”

“Shut up Shinra. I need to talk to I-...the Nightingale, but I can’t move. Take the phone to it.” Shizuo choked on his words a little, trying to say Ichi’s name was too painful. Shinra had gone silent on the other line, but he could barely make out the sound of his breathing. “They didn’t already kill it did they?” 

“No, they haven’t killed him yet. But Shizuo, they’ve moved him from Nebula. We...well, we might have fucked up yesterday, Celty and I. We’ve made up our minds, we don’t want them to kill Izaya so-”

“Who the hell is Izaya?” Shizuo cut his friend off again, growling out the words. Shinra clicked his tongue in annoyance, 

“Izaya is the Nightingale’s actual name. He told us yesterday when Masaomi came to see him. Don’t cut me off again, I’m trying to tell you something!” There was the sound of a door opening and closing before the doctor continued, “Celty and I went to talk to the Council yesterday afternoon after Masaomi left. We tried to appeal to them, and convince them to let Izaya live. We offered up an alternative and everything, our plan was foolproof! But the Council are actually fools, and they denied it! Then! They went ahead and made the verdict of killing Izaya, so they took him from Nebula to house him at Yagiri Pharmaceuticals until his sentence date.” Shinra stopped his rant with an annoyed grunt, letting Shizuo take in the whole long-winded explanation. His initial reaction was a gut-wrenching feeling of dread. Then the normal anger took over, and he forced his bruised body into a sitting position, snarling as he went. 

“So you’re telling me that if I don’t find a way back to the place I just escaped from, I won’t get my answers?” 

“That wasn’t exactly what I wanted you to take from that, but, you’re not wrong?” Shinra sounded put-out, “I was hoping you’d agree with us and want to help us rescue him.”

“Why the fuck should I want to rescue someone who’s been lying to me for years? Fuck, Shinra, I was married to it. I don’t want anything to do with it, but I want answers.” 

As he spoke he slowly made it out of bed and into a pair of sweatpants and t-shirt. Stumbling out into the hallway to the living room, he heard the sounds of Mikado and Masaomi making breakfast taper off into silence.

“Shizuo-san? Are you alright?” Mikado’s head appeared around the corner after a moment, followed by the rest of him. 

“Just sore kid, I’ll be fine.” He brushed past both boys before making his way to the door, grabbing his wallet and keys. Turning his attention back to the phone still in his hand, he continued, 

“Shinra, I’m coming to Nebula, you’re getting me a meeting with the Nightingale, got it?” 

He hung up before the doctor could even make a sound, already having started his drive there.

Shinra looked down at his phone, sighing deeply before slipping the device into his pocket. Looking over to Celty, the doctor shrugged. 

“If there’s one person Izaya will probably want to see; it’s his husband, for better or worse. I guess I should warn him before the angry Shizuo gets here.” 

His dullahan girlfriend gave what, in her version, was a laugh, her shoulders shaking slightly. She nodded in agreement, following him out of his office back into the bustle of Nebula’s main floor. The two figured they had at least half an hour before Shizuo showed up to take matters into his own hands. A plan was needed, and judging by the failure of their last plan, neither were very optimistic. Celty, who was typing and re-typing into her phone, finally held it out for Shinra to see, tilting her helmet,

‘How long do we have before the Council takes action? Maybe we can sneak Shizuo in?’

“I don’t think that’s going to work, unless we pretend to give Shizuo to them, in which case he can find Izaya himself and they can talk and hopefully work things out.”  The younger Kishitani cupped his chin in thought, leaning against the front desk. 

Erika, who happened to be stationed there that morning, poked her head into his line of sight,

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but you could always ask Seiji if he knows a back-way into Yagiri? He’s friends with Anri and is probably willing to help? You guys are trying to save Ichi, right?” 

“Is nothing a secret in this company?!” Shinra whirled around to look at her incredulously, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. Erika grinned brightly at him, shaking her head,

“I talk to Masaomi! He tells me things. I don’t know the whole story, but I do know that something’s going on with his mom, and that she’s been kidnapped by Yagiri Pharmaceuticals and that it’s put a strain on her and Shizu-san’s relationship.” 

Shinra and Celty shared a glance, 

“Well, I guess asking Seiji won’t hurt? And we’ll at least have some sort of plan for when Shizuo decides to grace us with his presence.” 

With mind made up, Shinra thanked Erika one last time, grabbed Celty by the arm, then marched the two of them across the lobby and out the main doors. Just in time for Shizuo to almost rush them. All three stopped short to stare at each other in surprise. 

The blonde gave them a feral grin,

“Alright! Take me to the Nightingale!” Shizuo went to continue, but Celty thrust her phone in his face, stopping him.

‘HOLD ON!’ She pulled her phone back to type quickly, only taking a few seconds before the phone was back in his line of sight,

‘We need to find a way into Yagiri first, then we can get to Izaya.’ 

Grin sliding from his face, Shizuo read the words, anger boiling up again. He grabbed the closest thing to him out of habit, which happened to be a stop sign, crunching the metal between his fingers, bending the sign. 

“Do we know when they’re gonna kill ‘em? Cause I want to know one thing before they do it.” 

“Well, no...But! We do have an idea of how to get into Yagiri undetected! Namie Yagiri has a younger brother; Seiji Yagiri. Who is dating Anri, who is friends with Masaomi and Erika, who-”

“Shinra. Get to the point.” 

“Right! Well, we can ask him to see if he knows a back-way in, or even if he can get us in himself!” 

Shizuo stared at his friend, the ridiculousness that had just left the doctor having shocked the anger right out of him. First, that was the worst idea he’d heard in a while. Second, Shinra seemed genuinely sure it would work. The berserker looked to Celty, who, to his surprise and slight disappointment, nodded along with her boyfriend. 

“You guys have to know that’s...really not going to work, right? I mean, even if we do find this kid, and we have no clue where he is I’m guessing, who knows if he can get us in? What if he can’t? Then we’ve wasted time.” He sighed as he watched the dawning on his friends faces, “I may not be the smartest guy, but even I know that’s a stretch at best.” 

“Ok, so we may have been grasping for anything that could help, but what else do we have? I say we still go for it!”  Shinra crossed his arms over his chest defiantly, glaring slightly. Celty still nodded her assent next to him, quickly typing out;

‘I think it’s at least worth a shot. I think Shingen would let us know if the Council suddenly decided it was time. He’s been on our side this whole time.’ 

Knowing he really didn’t have anything else but simply storming the building which, for many reasons, would definitely not work, Shizuo sagged in defeat, turning to address Celty instead,

“Alright, fine. How are we going to find this kid?” Shinra cut in, holding up his finger dramatically,

“Well, if you’d let me finish earlier, you’d know that Anri and his girlfriend are very good friends, and Miss Anri is friends with Masaomi, who is classmates with Seiji! We can ask either of them if they know where he hangs out!” 

“Guess I’ll be calling Masaomi then.” The blonde groaned. Luckily he knew the kid was still at home, it being the weekend. When Mikado was over, the two spent most of the day just hanging out, sometimes going shopping, but he’d left them while they were still cooking breakfast. 

Celty waved her phone to get the other two’s attention, ‘I’ll message Anri to see what she might know.’ 

“I can go see if Erika knows anything about where they might be. Then come back out here to you guys.” Shinra nodded once to himself, turning to walk back into the building. Celty was already typing out a message, her fingers rapidly flitting over the keys. All that remained was for Shizuo to make his call. With another soft groan, he pulled his phone from his pocket.


End file.
